Question

A large wooden crate is pushed along a smooth, frictionless surface by a force of \(100 \mathrm{N}\). The acceleration of the crate is measured to be $2.5 \mathrm{m} / \mathrm{s}^{2} .$ What is the mass of the crate?

Short answer

Answer: The mass of the crate is 40 kg.

Step-by-step solution

Write down the given values and the formula

In this case, the given values are: Force (F) = \(100 \thinspace \mathrm{N}\) Acceleration (a) = \(2.5 \thinspace \mathrm{m/s^2}\) We need to find the mass (m) of the crate. The formula we will use is Newton's second law of motion: \(F = ma\)

Rearrange the formula to solve for mass

In order to find the mass, we need to rearrange the formula. We can do this by dividing both sides of the equation by acceleration (a): \(m = \dfrac{F}{a}\)

Substitute the given values and solve for mass

Now, we can plug in the given values of force and acceleration into the formula and solve for mass: \(m = \dfrac{100 \mathrm{N}}{2.5 \mathrm{m/s^2}}\) \(m = 40 \thinspace \mathrm{kg}\)

State the answer

The mass of the crate is \(40 \thinspace \mathrm{kg}\).